September 23, 2020

Norwegian Research Centre leads cross-Atlantic aquaculture project

ASTRAL (All Atlantic Ocean Sustainable, Profitable and Resilient Aquaculture) is a HORIZON 2020 project recently financed under the Blue Growth programme of the European Union. It has a budget close to eight million euros (~US$9.37 million; 1 euro = US$1.17) and is led by NORCE – Norwegian Research Centre, the centre said in a release.

The project will contribute to the implementation of the Belém Statement (e.g. agreement signed by the EU, Brazil and South Africa to develop a strategic partnership on marine research) and will participate in building the All Atlantic Ocean Community.

The ASTRAL consortium includes 16 partners from 10 countries (Norway, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Nigeria, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil).

The main goal of the project is to increase value and sustainability for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) production by developing new, resilient, and profitable value chains. Specifically, this would involve increasing the circularity and the achievement of zero-waste aquaculture systems.

In IMTA production, multiple aquatic species from different trophic levels are farmed together. Waste from one species is used as inputs (fertilisers and food) for another species.

In addition, potential climate risks and emerging pollutants (microplastics, harmful algae blooms, pathogens) will be assessed, together with the development of innovative technology (specific sensors and biosensors, IoT and AI data analytics), with the final aim to provide monitoring recommendations to policymakers.

The ASTRAL consortium is made up of a multidisciplinary team of experts from different disciplines (e.g. marine biology, environmental management, economics, business administration, computer engineering) as well as SMEs and other relevant stakeholders from countries along the Atlantic Ocean.

The official project kick-off was made in a digital meeting on September 21.

The ASTRAL consortium includes research and technology organisations (NORCE, LEITAT, SAMS CSIR, CONICET, Marine Institute, NIOMR), universities (Federal University of Rio Grande, University of Cape Town), SMEs (BioceanOR, EGM, Crowdhelix, M&O Partners, Viking Aquaculture), associations/industrial clusters (PoleMer Bretagne Atlantique) and intergovernmental organisations (AIR Centre).